


misery loves company

by orphan_account



Category: In the Flesh (TV)
Genre: Drug Use, Human AU, M/M, Tumblr request, kieren is a university student, simon is a lawyer who kinda has a drug problem
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-09-21
Updated: 2014-09-21
Packaged: 2018-02-18 05:14:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,168
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2336564
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>originally a prompt for a three sentence au fic on tumblr. let's just say i got carried away.<br/>-<br/>in which simon is a lawyer and kieren is a student. the unlikely pair meets and hits it off.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> this is so shitty goodbye  
> but i got carried away bc i have a lot of feelings about this au
> 
> i don't own the characters  
> however, i do own the bad writing.  
> all mistakes are my own because i don't have a beta and also i am sorry for the fact that it is painfully american bc i am painfully american
> 
> enjoy

Royal blue silk sleeves of Simon's dress shirt were pushed up to his elbows, revealing the track marks left by needles, the dark pinpricks standing out against pale skin.  
Sighing, he pushed open the familiar glass doors. The therapists had recommended some sort of group therapy, as a way to "share your problems with others".  
Simon didn't believe the ploys of the psychologists and psychiatrists and the stupid antidepressants they threw at him in a lazy attempt to fix him, despite the fact that human beings couldn't be broken, and the stupid pills didn't work anyway. They didn't take any pain away, only numbed it to a degree in which he could function.  
He followed the signs to the room where this stupid group therapy was held, eventually ending up in an uncomfortable looking conference room, filled with other people who looked like they had no desire to be there either.  
Sitting down in the only empty seat, Simon looked to his right, at the skinny strawberry blonde who sat next to him, who had his hoodie sleeves tugged over his wrists obviously. 

Suddenly, the therapist started droning on (he tuned out her voice after less than forty seconds), about how bleak life must seem right now and how it'll get better.  
Then, she asked everyone to introduce themselves as they had "new faces" with them. When the strawberry blonde boy next to him spoke, Simon immediately began listening to him.  
Oh. He had gorgeous eyes. He was gorgeous. There was a small paint smudge on his jaw, and he was gorgeous. Definitely still in university, judging by the hoodie he wore that had the college's name in bold letters across the back. 

By the end of the two hours, Simon had decided that he needed to talk to this man (he'd learned that his name was Kieren and he'd tried to kill himself a while ago, but apparently he was getting better). When everyone stood up to leave, Simon caught Kieren by the wrist, immediately releasing his grip when the boy turned to look at him.  
"Simon Monroe." He introduced himself, holding out a pale hand to shake.  
"Kieren Walker." The boy replied, and Simon studied the paint that was on his hands. Clearly an artist.  
"You're an artist?"  
"Yeah, and you're that drug addict lawyer." Kieren said in a teasing tone.  
Simon cringed at that, shifting his gaze to the floor and automatically tugging his sleeves down, self conscious about the marks that littered his arms.  
"I didn't mean it like that- Fuck, I'm sorry. What matters is that you're trying to get better." The (beautiful) boy apologized, laying a hand on Simon's shoulder, and Simon didn't even bother to pull away.  
"I'll take you to court if you keep running your mouth like that." He teased back, a silent 'apology accepted'.  
"Well, I should be going." Kieren said in a remorseful tone, looking surprised as Simon caught his wrist again.  
"Here's my card. My personal number's on the back." He said with the first genuine smile he'd smiled in a long time. 

As the two went their separate ways, Simon got a text almost immediately as he got in the car, instructing the driver towards his luxury apartment. The text read "When can I see you again? xo, Kieren". Simon smiled and typed out "As soon as you want to." and gave Kieren the address to his apartment.

Later that night, when Kieren knocked on his door with a wide eyed expression and kissed Simon like his life depended on it, Simon returned it, feeling a swell of something igniting that wasn't artificial, that didn't leave a scar.  
When the two pulled away, Simon spoke breathlessly.  
"Kieren Walker, I think I may be in love with you, I'm just waiting until I'm sure to tell you."  
It didn't matter to Simon that they'd just met, because the beautiful boy with paint on his hands had given Simon something he hadn't felt in a long while, and it was thrilling and terrifying all at once, a high that no drug could compete with.  
-


	2. we're so close to something better left unknown

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I HAVE NO SELF CONTROL AND THIS NEEDED A SECOND CHAPTER  
> i stole the title for this chapter from gimme sympathy by metric
> 
> this is sO bAD BUT I DON'T CARE AND IT ALSO TURNED OUT TO HAVE WAY MORE ANGST THAN I INTENDED OOPS
> 
> enjoy my crap writing

For the first time in years, Simon woke without the familiar haze of whatever drug he'd taken the night before, grey light swallowing the dull bedroom. The clock next to him read 7:15am, the earliest he'd been up voluntarily in quite a few weeks. The last thing he remembered from last night was an anchor in the raging sea of thoughts and emotions, a faint glow in the dark.

It was 9:01am when Simon finally made it to the kitchen, his eyes immediately falling on a receipt with scrawled handwriting on it, next to the sickeningly bright colored bottle of prescription drugs - antidepressants. The handwriting, of course, belonged to Kieren, indicated by the signature at the end of it, and oh- that bastard signed his name with a fucking heart. Filling a glass with water, Simon grabbed the bottle, shaking out the pill he was supposed to take, quickly choking it down with the room temperature water.  
Glancing back to the note, he pulled the iPhone from his pocket, dialing the number and placing it to his ear.  
When the other end of the line stopped ringing and a melodic voice answered, Simon knew it was Kieren.  
"Kieren Walker, when may I see you again?" he questioned, not realizing the small smile that spread across his face.  
"Impatient, are we?" Kieren teased.  
"Would you care for brunch in an hour?" he asked, anxiously twirling a pen in his fingers.  
"God, I didn't know I was doing whatever it is we're doing with a fucking _posh middle aged woman_." he heard the beautiful voice taunt, gaining a chuckle from the other.  
"I take that as a yes?"  
"Yes, you _idiot_."  
Simon texted Kieren the address for the restaurant and left the kitchen to get dressed, realizing that the thought of sticking a needle in his arm hadn't even crossed his mind, not this morning.

 

When Simon saw Kieren from across the restaurant, he gave an anxious, tight-lipped smile. Kieren looked fantastic in the late morning light, his strawberry-golden hair backlit by the grey light, like a fucking angel or something. (Simon was pretty sure he actually was an angel.)  
"Morning, big lawyer man. Taking a break from the courthouse to see someone like me?" Kieren asked, a sad smile gracing his face. "Something like that, yeah." he replied, sitting down across from Kieren, anxiously taking short breaths, trying to stop his pale hands from shaking. "Everything okay?" Damn, that boy didn't miss anything. "Withdrawal symptoms, you know, the fucking usual." Simon snapped, immediately regretting the choice to do so. As a thick silence fell between them, Simon nervously drew the sleeves of his thick sweater over his palms, fiddling with a loose piece of yarn that hung off the end of one sleeve, his eyes not leaving his hands, in fear that Kieren would have got up and left. But no, the stupid perfect boy's hand had found it's way to his own shaking hand, a gentle warmth. "Hey, you're okay. It's okay." Kieren said gently, as if Simon was a delicate piece of glass. God, Kieren was amazing. The golden boy seemed to push away all his own feelings, just to tell some stupid junkie lawyer that it was okay. "I'm okay." Simon assured, looking up at the waitress that had just walked up, giving them a judgmental glare, looking at their clasped hands on the table as if they were garbage. "What can I get you today?" She feigned kindness, seeming as if she'd rather be anywhere _but_ there. "Tea, please. Green." Kieren asked, and Simon gave him a glance. "I'll take a double shot of espresso." Simon added, noting the look of utter disgust on the waitress's face as she walked away with a twisted scowl.

  
Simon glanced up and saw the horrified look on Kieren's face, the amazing boy looked scared and angry. "Homophobic waitress, what could be better?" Kieren joked bitterly, as if he was used to it, being looked down upon and seen as a filthy thing for liking to kiss boys. At the tone of his voice, Simon leaned across the small table, letting his hand slip to the nape of Kieren's neck as he kissed the boy, letting his pale fingers tangle in the short strawberry blonde hairs, earning a small happy noise from the other. The waitress walked up just as they broke apart, wide eyed with swollen lips and flushed cheeks. She set the hot drinks down in front of them with stiff movements, as if they were toxic, dirty, something not to be touched. Raising the small mug of espresso to his lips, Simon sipped the hot liquid, ignoring the burn on his tongue, not particularly enjoying the bitter taste, but choking it down, just for the sake of caffeine. He watched Kieren raise the mug of green tea to his mouth, listening to the small sound of pleasure from the other. "Good, huh?" Simon questioned, getting a nod from Kieren. He replied to that with a smile and another peck on the lips.

  
When the two walked out of the cafe, Simon anxiously extended his slightly shaking hand, taking Kieren's warm one. "Thanks." He said, glancing over at Kieren, running his hand over Kieren's wrist, feeling raised skin and immediately knowing the cause, but not dwelling on it, instead, he raised Kieren's wrist to his lips, kissing the scar gently, before grabbing the other wrist, gently placing a kiss on that one as well. "You're wonderful." Simon breathed out against Kieren's skin, stroking the raised scar with his thumb before letting Kieren's arms fall to his side. When Simon looked up, there were tears shining in Kieren's beautiful brown eyes, and Simon reached up, brushing a stray one away. Kieren gave a sad smile, glancing down at the ground, as if meeting Simon's eyes would turn him to stone. "Hey, you're alright." Simon repeated Kieren's words from earlier, parroting them to the other. "Thank you." Kieren said, meeting Simon's eyes finally, before leaning over and pressing a kiss to Simon's lips as if his life depended on it. When they broke apart again, Simon was shaking anxiously, taking short breaths, trying to slow them, but failing. "Alright?" "Caffeine - I- I shouldn't have had that espresso. Makes my anxiety worse." Simon breathed out, paling. "Hey, shh. It's fine. You're okay. Do you have any meds for it back at your place?" Kieren asked calmly, as if he was experienced with this. Nodding, Simon wordlessly handed Kieren his phone, with the number for his private driver pulled up on the screen, on speed dial, the only name next to Kieren's. After the short phone call, Kieren pulled Simon to a metal bench, stroking his thumb over Simon's hand, just as Simon had done for him earlier. The two stayed like that until the sleek Cadillac Escalade pulled up, and the two got in the backseat, silent as Simon shivered, despite the warm temperature.

  
When they reached the apartment complex, Simon let Kieren lead him by the arm, hyper cautious of the marks on his arm, despite them being hidden by thick yarn from his sweater. As the elevator came to a stop, Simon shook out of Kieren's grasp, punching in the code to his flat, immediately rushing to the kitchen and producing a needle from a hidden cabinet by his fridge, searching desperately for any form of drugs, something to numb whatever it was that he was feeling, something to calm the anxiety. That was, until a rough grip on his arm brought him back down from his frantic haze, and he recognized Kieren, holding a pill. "Simon, listen to me. Take this. Just calm down." Kieren assured him, soothing. Wordlessly, Simon nodded, dry swallowing the pill before allowing himself to be dragged to the sofa, listening hazily as he heard Kieren talking on the phone to his therapist, who was also trying to help him stop the drug addiction, a futile attempt, but an attempt nonetheless. When Kieren was finished on the phone, he felt the sofa shift and a warm arm come around his shoulders. "Si, you're gonna be okay. If you want to get clean, I'll help you, god knows you help me, and we've barely known each other two days. I'll help you through this, it'll be tough, trust me, I tried to off myself and it was so hard getting better, and I'm still getting better. We can help each other, it'll be okay."  
And Simon believed him, the boy with the angel eyes and the strawberry gold hair that felt like silk. He believed him, because it was true, and Kieren was the only one who pulled him from the sinking ship in the stormy sea of his mind, like a lighthouse through the pelting rain.

Because for the first time in years, there was hope.


End file.
